Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen: Last ex-Sixers standing in playoffs

Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen: Last ex-Sixers standing in playoffs

We've talked about how Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen haven't exactly been lighting it up for the Pacers this postseason. Indeed, in their second-round series against the Wizards, ET and Lavoy were ineffective as ever, with Evan scoring just 13 total points (with 14 rebounds and nine assists) across the six games, and Lavoy just playing six minutes of garbage time. Not only have these guys turned out not to be the difference for the Pacers, they're barely even the slightest of factors.

However, as minimal a role as they may currently be playing in these playoffs, it's bigger than the non-existent role of all other ex-Sixers. These playoffs started off as a vertiable cornucopia of ex-Liberty Ballers: Kyle Korver, Shelvin Mack, Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams, Marreese Speights, Samuel Dalembert, even Lou Amundson was technically on the Bulls. You couldn't throw a rock at any series this postseason without hitting someone who had a bone to pick with Ed Stefanski or Doug Collins.

But with the elimination last night of the Wizards (Andre Miller) and the Clippers (Matt Barnes, Willie Green, Danny Granger), that means the unless you count Thabo Sefolosha--drafted by the Sixers in 2006, but traded that night for Rodney Carney, now on the Oklahoma City Thunder--Evan and Lavoy are the last remaining ex-Sixers in this year's postseason. They might not be helping Indiana's postseason chances much at the moment, but they haven't totally submarined them either.

So if you're still watching this NBA posteason looking for a rooting interest in the Final Four, may as well go Pacers, right? I mean, look at this Lavoy Instagram:

"I think anybody who knows me or who has played with or against me along the road here, knows that I am not that kind of player," Manning said, according to a statement released by the Flyers. "I am not out there intentionally trying to hurt people. I'm a guy who plays the game hard and I take pride in that."

Gretzky didn't mind seeing that fire in McDavid, saying competitiveness is part of what makes the great ones great. And he said the targeting comes with the territory of being a superstar. It was something he and Mario Lemieux dealt with, too.

"And Connor, he's going to get tested every night, but this is not new for him," Gretzky said Friday at the NHL board of governors meetings. "He's been tested since he was a kid and then playing junior hockey and now in the NHL and he's always responded and done his part."